Dragon and Sheep
by bevesy
Summary: Ozai once loved. While Aang and Azula's wedding approaches, Ozai begins to sink into insanity – and takes Katara along for the ride.
1. Introduction

**Dragon and Sheep**

* * *

 **Prompts**

Diamonds

 _Dialogue_ – "It's funny how things turn out the way they do."

 _Character_ – Azulon

 _Restriction_ – No words starting with 'm'

 **Team** – Waterbender / Kolau Komodo Rhinos

 **Word Count** – 3165

* * *

 **Summary** – Ozai once loved. During Aang and Azula's upcoming wedding, he begins to sink into insanity – and takes Katara along for the ride.

* * *

 **End Note:** _This work_ _is an entry for the Probending Tournament. I tried putting it in a one shot but it wasn't working because I wanted Ozai to have his own realm. Hope you enjoy._


	2. Prologue

**Dragon and Sheep**

Prologue

* * *

Kya wore her own coat, its hood furry over her head. She almost wanted to wash her hands before accepting the necklace. It's a dream she never thought she would encounter.

"I accept," she said.

"Really?!"

She laughed. He sprung up and wrapped his arms around her.

The skies look indigo in contrast to the white snow beneath worn tan boots. The fire camps over the village from the distance where Hakoda and Kya stood. Hakoda wore a sleeveless top. His furry coat pooled on the grounds. The pendant gleaming in his hand could look like a star.

They hug so hard that Kya thought her body and Hakoda's would turn to stone like the statues of Oma and Shu in the Cave of Two Lovers. In the night skies, her tears glistened as she buried her head in the crook of his neck and shoulder, smelling seaweed and something tangy and clean.

"We'll be alright. I don't care what it takes," he said. "We'll find a way."

There always had to be a way to solve every problem, even though their world was vicious.

That night, they returned back to camp, Hakoda told Kanna the news in their igloo.

Kya tried to ignore Kanna's eyes. Those eyes witnessed all things foul. Kanna watched Kya like a commoner would do a thief who just left the house she stole from.

"I am happy for you," was all Kanna could say.

Kya returned back to her home and found comfort under warm polar furs and sealskin.

She woke up on the break of dawn. Kya did not bundle up and walked out. The village was still empty under the pinkish and orange skies. Waves crashed against snow. She walked until her feet sunk into ice cold water.

She bathed and did until she felt clean enough.

By the time she was done, she had forgotten _him_.


	3. I

**Dragon and Sheep**

I

* * *

Ozai remembered her name just as he saw the guard in the shadows.

It was dawn and he just finished another day breaking stones by the waters in the volcanic Boiling Rock. For the tenth time, Ozai considered jumping inside the waters.

The guard – no – the intruder, released a ticking sound with his tongue. Ozai looked closer to see that the guard looked odd. No guards should wear a robe.

He was tall, with transparent white skin along with eyes that almost glowed. Long dark hair dressed in a top knot swept up to where the gold royal insignia pin stood.

"I don't entertain ghosts I don't know, especially ones with no purpose other than lurking in dark corners."

"Ghosts, you say. I'm hurt, I didn't think you'd be so quick to forget you own flesh and blood, Ozai."

Ozai stumbled, finally recognizing the poisonous voice belonging to the figure stepping up. He inched back, clutching concrete walls with calloused fingertips.

"It's funny how things turn out the way they do."

His father looked just as he did when Ozai was eighteen summers.

But there were changes. Azulon's hands stained with blood. They looked like flaws on an ink painting. Azulon's eyes were so wide that Ozai thought they would fall out of their sockets. Irises, once gold, blackened. Blue vein circled his eyes and trailed down his cheeks

"I prefer Iron's tea loving fate than your wretched state in a prison you singlehandedly created. How does it feel knowing that despite all your attempts at greatness, you're still not even as worthy as the destitute pauper on the streets?"

"I'm glad you're dead you bastard! I did whatever I could to please you but I knew you didn't give a damn! You always wanted Iroh. _Iroh, Iroh, Iroh!_ I named Azula after you and it still wasn't enough!"

Azulon laughed, his voice echoing in the cell. He laughed, so hard that Ozai thought someone would come to his rescue. No one came.

Azulon was dead and could not be seen by anyone but Ozai. Finally, his father slowed down. Azulon's voice turned to soft chuckles. His claw like nails clutched his chest as he calmed himself.

"Why do you look like this?" Ozai asked, still keeping his eye out for any attack. The demon tilted his head. "You were old when you left and less rotten."

Azulon didn't respond. He watched Ozai, hands still holding his chest. Dark strands almost obscured black like eyes. "I wanted to give you a nice visit, that's all. Shouldn't a father check up on his children?"

"I bet you looked better with Iroh than you do with your other son!"

"Oh shut up, you little shit!" the demon snarled, "why should I care about how you feel. You were always up to no good! As slick as any snake! You wanted your own father dead but didn't have the guts to do it with your own hands! Your wife had spunk yet you still wanted that filthy peasant!"

" _Silence!"_

Ozai shut his eyes and heard nothing but the violent shudders of his breath.

His chest thundered. It felt like someone drummed it. Sweat pooled over his skin. He opened his eyes, not surprised to find his cell empty.


	4. II

**Dragon and Sheep**

II

* * *

 _Kya_.

Ozai blinked. That was her name. Kya. He didn't understand why he remembered her while his daughter spoke. But all of a sudden, he saw her oval face and blue eyes. He could smell her.

Besides Zuko, it was his daughter who visited every week, even though pretended she didn't exist.

Azula said lots of things on this visit, but he didn't need to hear her. If the rumors were not true, she'd do anything to convince him otherwise!

But no, the filthy whore had the audacity to sit in front of him and tell him that she was leaving for Ba Sing Se after her wedding. She had nothing to offer him but that!

That half cast daughter of his wife stood aside near the gates in traditional navy uniform, dressed in black and gold armor. The tea on the table gave hot smoke and warm jasmine. "I have one question for you: how come you've battled a hundred soldiers under your command and not her?"

"Kiyi, don't!"

Azula's hand shot up. Ozai smirked when the soldier glared, arms now standing at her sides. Perhaps Azula would have been a better daughter if he had three children! Competition worked wonders.

But no, Azula now sat across from him in garbs Ursa would have worn if they were younger. Her topknot headdress gleamed, its ruby specks blinking. Ozai felt a knife dig into his chest. He felt he was fed water from the gutter. He lost his daughter to the thief who stole his bending.

He was able to play with the women again, until he noticed a flicker. Behind his daughter stood the demon, who stood next to the half cast. This time, he had a dazed look about his eyes, as though he was drunk. His father drunk never was a good thing. Ozai learned this hard fact at the age of six.

"What do you want?!" Azula jumped. The figure still had the smug look with a growing grin that angered Ozai. Azula looked behind her and shared a confused stare with Kiyi.

"Father, there's no one there."

"Get out!" Ozai snarled. Azulon began skipping around the visiting section. He played with the soldier's hair but she didn't budge. He hopped over to claw at Azula's shoulders, leaning down to plant a kiss on her lips.

" _Out!"_

Ozai lunged forward – but could not touch Azula when a force propelled him back. He howled as hot tea spilled over his face. There were shouts and sounds of gates wrenched open. Steps thundered inside, reverberating in his ears. He could hear his father's explosive cackles amid his daughter's screams for the ten guards to stop dragging him.

When they threw him in the cooler, the noises stopped.

Again, Ozai listened to his soft pants, now out in cloudy puffs. He shivered. He heard light footsteps.

He chuckled, "Is it going to be like this? You torturing your son till his last breath?" He looked up, expecting to find his father studying him again.

But he saw something else. A woman, shivering in a red robe too large to fit her. In the grayish dark, he could not see her face. Chestnut hair ran down her back. Ozai felt a stirring he thought was long dead. He pictured the women he's had, warm and writhing underneath his body. They used to bow to him, naked, with their knees on expensive rug and tongues stroking him.

And there was one he liked the best.

 _I've wrong you._

Suddenly, he blinked and saw his father, arms folded and head bent on the ground. Ozai knew why his father dressed this way.

Ozai saw the way the robe did not touch the ground. This was a traveling garb. At celebrations, his father wore ones that dragged on floors. His father's topknot looked finely combed. He smelled like the remnants of firewhiskey.

"Don't remember, do you?" Azulon asked. "I've always wondered what the problem with you was. Gave you all of Fire Nation's finest courtesans and you turned them away! Iroh didn't hesitate the way you did. I worried that you'd gone cold or worst, had no feeling for women. Then I ordered the killing of the last waterbender…"

Ozai panicked. "…you seemed so upset when Yon Rha killed her!

"Then I had him drunk and he spilled! He said that you took a liking to her on a trip I sent you to oversee trading with them. Kept her on the ship for yourself each time you went! Yon Rha suspected you but couldn't believe that you, a noble prince of the Fire Nation, could stoop so low until he happened to spot both of you in your room with her on all fours!" Azulon laughed.

Ozai sneered.

"All smitten! Convincing her that you _love_ her."

Ozai lunged after him, yelling when his body hit the walls. His father had side stepped or simply disappeared. But Ozai kept hearing his laugh, clenching fists over his ears as the demon said the next words.

"You surprised us! Illah could not believe it! And I never pegged you for someone with a fetish for Water Tribe women!"


	5. III

**Dragon and Sheep**

III

* * *

Guards had kept him in the cooler for an hour before they dragged him out. Ozai almost cowered when pushed outside. The boiling waters wafted off hot steam, overwhelming the courtyard. He could hear some of the prisoners talking – the ones who did not respect him. Though few, they could kill him if they wanted: a lot of them had parents he executed.

"Prison scum," one fired as he passed by on his way to the dining hall from another day breaking stones. His back ached and the base of his neck felt stiff. "Hope you enjoy the prison you created!"

Ozai ignored their laughter. His gaze darted about. All prisoners had already been seated in the dining hall, eating their jook with dried berries. His favorite. He scowled and sat at the empty table, focused only on the porridge.

He wondered when his father would come visit him again. No. He'd rather not have his father show up in the dining hall.

Ozai did not look up at the heavily clad guard that walked to him

"You have a visitor."

That soon? His daughter left right after the incident and he didn't think she'd come back quickly. The only one who visited besides his daughter was his son and the Avatar, who came once in a while to leave goods: he just gave him old scrolls and a nice Pai Sho set.

"Who is it?"

"Lady Katara."

The name rang a bell. Katara was one of Zuko's followers, the current Water Tribe ambassador for both the North and South. Ozai rose and let the guards shackle him.

They took him into the corridors, away from the supervision of the watchmen above.

Ozai laughed at the thought of them still thinking he was high risk. They didn't pull too hard though.

Katara had been the waterbender his father wanted dead. Ozai smirked. Kya was always sharp.

And what would Kya's daughter want with him, on a nice summery day at the Boiling Rock?

They reached a tiny room. The lights inside were burnt orange. He saw his visitor.

Ozai stopped. His father waved by the woman's side.

"Have a seat, Ozai."

Ignoring his father's face, Ozai shuffled over to sit across the woman. He could not look at her face. Lady Katara was dressed in her traditional Water Tribe garb: a dark blue (tainted crimson under the light) tunic with an embroidered belt. Her hair fell in neat loops, pulled back in a long braid.

She looked like her dining.

"I found a letter," she said. She took out a tiny scroll from her little purse. Something tugged at Ozai's chest. She put it on the table. The scroll looked worn, like it had been locked away for years. "Do you have an idea who wrote this?"

"I'm surprised your people even write."

"I'm surprised you don't understand what a question is." Katara said, "Now. Do you know who possibly wrote this?"

Ozai's smirk left his face.

"You're quiet, which means you know that she wrote this," Katara said. "You're the prince she spoke about. When your country colonized the Water Tribe country, you took trips with your father's army to 'oversee transactions'. You used to come with your father, but you started coming with his army and you'd take a group of girls to your ship to entertain you."

Azulon began chuckling.

Ozai shifted, "Whatever was said is true. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Did you love her?"

His father laughed out loud. Again, though his voice echoed in the room, Ozai chose to ignore it. That was when he finally stared at Lady Katara. Blue, the color of the sea. Yes. He could smell pepper berries, not the ideal perfume for a woman but it suited him. Kya never smiled, only did as he asked and that angered him.

She didn't care how hard he tried, he just wasn't enough!

Ozai almost wanted to shout. But his father kept laughing until he quieted into small chuckles.

"I guess it's just as she said. You told her you loved her but deep down you knew that a slave could never love the one who imprisoned her. You wanted her to eat up and jump on to the next one," Katara laughed. "I'm sorry if you felt cheated but she loved dad. Only him."

Lady Katara rose and walked out of the room. Fire Nation guards stepped aside to let her pass. He was left in the room.

Azulon was gone.


	6. Epilogue

**Dragon and Sheep**

Epilogue

* * *

Zuko told her the news on a scroll.

"Ozai jumped off into the boiling water," he said, "They tried to stop him. Kept him in the cooler. He waited and did it the next evening."

Katara didn't know what to say, but she stayed at the Fire Palace for another week for the wedding.

Katara sighed at the gush of cool air. The Northern Water was a relief from the hot weather back in the Fire Nation. Aang and Azula's wedding was beautiful. She loved the way the hall sparkled in bright red, gold and white. Zuko worked hard to involve both traditions: Aang adorned in his traditional nomad garb and Azula decked in white and gold brocade.

For the first time in her life, Katara smiled when Aang took the plunge and leaned down to seal his union with Azula with a kiss: this had the journalists and photographers in a frenzy.

On a gondola, Katara entered the outskirts of the Northern Water Tribe's capital. Her brother wanted her to visit Republic City after this, and she figured she'd need it once she completed her last task. She kept the letter in her pockets.

 _Katara._

She spotted the small home by a canal. The gondola slowed. She thanked her guide with one gold coin. Katara checked her notes for directions again. The same place. She ignored the stares from neighbors. An elderly woman with a cane walked out of the home.

 _I write this asking for your forgiveness._

"Lady Katara?"

"Yes."

"Oh, wonderful! You look better in person than on the newspapers! Come on in."

She smiled and ushered Katara in. Katara adjusted her duffel bag. She had to stop at the Southern Water Tribe to grab the goods Kanna wanted to give to the woman she needed to visit. Entering the premises, Katara smiled smelling stewed sea prunes and simmering tea.

 _I had been young, I had to do things to ensure the tribe's safety. I regret it. I was lucky enough for your father to accept this._

She spotted a dark haired women stirring the contents in the pot.

"Good afternoon!"

 _I was with fire lord's son. He grew too attached. I played along until he left. I want you to know that I've never loved him but only your father._

The woman wasn't hard to find. Kanna kept tabs on her. Katara was surprised that she still exchanged letters with her.

Her elderly host came to the woman to ask her to have a seat by the table. Katara sat down. She watched the woman wipe her hands and remove her apron.

When she entered sitting area, Katara blinked at the twinge in her chest.

She laughed, "Sorry. It's not every day that you get to see _the_ Lady Katara."

Katara smiled, "I should be the one who's sorry. I hate barging into people's homes without notice. It's Nalah, right? I heard you're a pro with catering!"

 _I had a child for the prince. I hid it from him because I didn't want him to use it against Hakoda. Kanna helped sent her to the North._

Nalah grinned. Her dark hair looked blacker than a typical Water Tribe civilian's hair. Years in a period where women were used by Fire Nation soldiers could result in that. The only thing that set Nalah apart were her eyes – a sparkling gold along with pale skin. Nalah was not a bender, but she called herself the best sea prune stew chef in town.

 _Entrusted is the address I sent her to. I hope she's still there. I know it will be hard for you to take this in. But let her know who I am._

 _Tell her I'm always thinking of you all, including her._

Nalah could not read well, but did enough to read receipts and write her name. Still, she preferred being read to.

Katara almost told her the truth, but she leaned forward and indulged in a conversation about the use of whiteberries as the secret ingredient for blubber soup with her elder sister.

 _Tell her that I love her._


End file.
